Guard-rail brace



April 29, 1930. WESTON 1,756,842

GUARD RAIL BRACE Filed Jan. 21. 1929 INVENTOR. I ;I" l Alonzo H. Weszon 4 l7 BY ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 193%? ALONZO H. WESTON, 0F YONKEBS, NEW YORK, ASSIGIN'OB TO AMERICAN OHAIN COM- IPANY, INC., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK GUARD-RAIL nnacn This invention relates to railway track, and more particularly to a type of brace plate for a guard rail.

It has been the practice heretofore to provide braces for guard rails which embraces the outer face of the webs of the guard and traflic rail respectively, and a spacer is wedged between the two rails to maintain the correct clearance for the wheel flanges. The whole devicais usually held in adjusted relation by a. dge-shaped locking member driven betw e'web of the guard rail and the face of "the; b ome other suitable method wellrlgnownto the art.

It is also the practice to use a standard rail for a guard rail but, heretofore, it has been necessary to plane 03 one of the base flanges in order to secure the correct wheel flange clearance between the heads of the rails. On some of the railroads it is also the practice to elevate the head of the guard rail above the head of the traffic rail. This is usually done by using a rail with a deeper web which involves more expense. I

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a guard rail brace formed integral with a tie plate which is so shaped as topermit the rail to be secured thereto, either by bolts, rivets or welding in such a manner as to do away with the spacing blocks referred to above.

A further object is to provide a brace which is so constituted that the guard rail is elevated above the traflic rail and canbe. cor

rectly positioned to give the necessary clearance without planing the base flange.

A clear conception of the construction, op-

Fig. 4; is a cross-section through 4.4c of Fig. 3, taken in the direction of the arrows.

The preferred form of the device as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a base or tie plate 1 having shoulders 2 and 3 formed integral therewith.

The tie plate is formed with seats at separate levels whereby the guard rail is raised above the level of the traflic rail. The seats 4; and 5 are formed as shown, and traffic rail 6 is positioned on seat 4 with the outer base flange against shoulder 3. The guard rail 7 is positioned on seat 5 with the outer base flange overlapping the inner base flange of thetraflic rail 6. This obviates the necessity of planing the flange of the guard rail, as is well known in the art, and provides a holding means for the inner flange of the traflic rail to prevent its tipping. The rail 7 is also positioned in such a manner that the under face of the head and the inner face of the web are in contact with shoulder 2. Shoulder or brace 2 is formed with ears or lugs 8 which extend at right angles thereto and are adapted to contact with the web of the rail as shown in Fig. 2. The lugs 8 are provided with holes 10 for accommodating bolts 11, by which rail 7 is secured to brace 2. A plate or washer 12 is provided for each bolt, which is adapted to conform to the contourof the head, web and flange of the rail, and which is provided with an oval or square hole 9 for gripping the oval or square shank of bolt 11.

The device is assembled as follows: The tie plate 1 is positioned on a cross-tie 14:," and tra-flic rail 6 is positioned on seat 4, and spikes 15 are driven in to hold the plate 1 and rail 6 in position. Guard rail 7 is now placed on seat 5, having first been drilled with holes corresponding to holes 10 in the lugs 8, and the rail is secured to the shoulder 2 by bolts 11, and spikes 16 are driven in to hold the rail 7 firmly.

Figs. 3 and 4 disclose a modified method of securing the guard rail 7 to the shoulder 2. The rail is set in position and welded to the tie plate 1 at points 17 and to the shoulder 2 at 18, thereby obviating the necessity of drilling holes in the rail 7 for accommodating bolts 11. This greatly simplifies the initial installation and also does away with the necessity of maintaining the bolts 11.

It is apparent from the above that the de vice provides a rigid brace member for the guard rail which is easily installed and which will require little, if any, maintenance.

I claim:

1. In a guard rail brace of the type described, a tie plate having apair of shoulders formed integral therewith, a traffic rail, a guard rail, one of said shoulders being formed to abut the head and web of said guard rail, a pair of lugs formed on said shoulder and conforming with the head and web of said guard rail and means for rigidly securing said guard rail to said shoulder.

2. In a guard rail brace of the type described, a tie plate having a pair of shoulders formed integral therewith, a traffic rail, a guard rail, one of said shoulders being formed toabut the head and web of said guardrail, a pair of lugs formed on said shoulder and conforming with the head and Web of said guard rail, said second shoulder abutting the flange of said tralflc rail and means for rigidly securing said guard rail to said first mentioned shoulder.

3. In a guardrail brace of the type described, a tie plate having a pair of shoulders formed integral therewith, a traflic rail, a guard rail, one of said shoulders being formed to abut the head and web of said guard rail, a pair of lugs formed on said shoulder and conforming with the head and web of 'said guard rail and a plurality of bolts for rigidly securing said guard rail to said shoulder.

' 4. In a guard rail brace of the type described, a tie plate having a pair of shoulders formed integral therewith, a traflic rail, a guard rail, one of said shoulders being formed to abut the head and web of said guard rail, a pair of lugs formed on said shoulder and conforming with the head and web of said guard rail and said shoulder beliong welded to said guard rail to form a rigid race.

5. In a guard rail brace of the type dey scribed, a tie plate having a pair of shoulders formed integral therewith, a traflic rail, a guard rail, said guard rail overlapping said trafiic rail to prevent tipping of said traflic rail and means for securing said guard rail to one of said shoulders. I 6. In. a guard rail brace of the type described, a tie plate having a pair of shoulders formed integral therewith, a traffic rail, a guard rail, one of said shoulders being formed to abut the head and web of said guard rail, a pair of lugs formed on said shoulder and conforming with the head and web of said guard rail, a plurality of bolts for securing said guard rail to said shoulder, said second shoulder abutting the flange of said traflic rail and said guard rail being seated above said traflic rail and means on said guard rail maaeaa for preventing said traffic rail from tipping.

7. In a uard rail brace of the type described, a tie plate having a pair of shoulders formed integral therewith, a traffic rail, a guard rail, one of'said shoulders being formed to abut the head and Web of said guard rail,

a pair of lugs formed on said shoulder and conforming with the head and web of said guard rail, a plurality of bolts for securing said guard rail to said shoulder, said second shoulder abutting the flange of said traffic rail and said guard rail being seated above said trafiic rail and the flange of said guard rail overlying the flange of said traffic rail thereby preventing said traflic rail from tipping. 8. In a guard rail brace of the type described, a guard rail, a traflic rail, a tie plate,

-- In testimony whereof, I have signed this application.

- ALONZO' H. WESTON. 

